Terry Combest is a mom in every sense of the word. She has three biological children, two adopted children, and many students she’s mothered in one way or another through the years, as a teacher, coach, and tutor.
Combest’s own mother passed away when she was very young. “Growing up, I didn’t have everything that my kids have,” she says. “I was raised by a single father. We were poor, but we [kids] didn’t know we were poor. My dad made the best of the situation. And he instilled in us that it’s important to go to school and get an education so you can take care of yourself and not rely on anybody else.”
Combest was born in Augusta, Georgia, but her father moved them to Yonkers, New York, to be closer to family after her mother passed. “I was always a little athlete, kind of a tomboy,” she says, “so I took to sports. I started playing, and I excelled. I thought this might be an avenue for me to get a college degree because my dad couldn’t afford to pay for me to go to college.”
Sports would ultimately be what led Combest to Memphis; she was awarded a track scholarship at what was then Memphis State. And she credits her support system for helping open those doors. “My coaches were wonderful,” she says. “I had some excellent people in my corner.” Combest recalls once when she came home from a track meet feeling a bit defeated. Her father shared words of wisdom. “I was a middle-distance runner,” she says. “At the time, there weren’t that many African Americans running distance. I came home and I said, ‘Dad, I didn’t win the race.’ He said, ‘Terry, did you give it 100 percent? That’s all I can ask. That’s all anybody can ask of you.’”
That’s a lesson Combest has tried to convey to her own children — Brittney (20), Boris (18), Byron (14), Quadir (15), and Malayzia (10). She and her husband Boris adopted the latter two, Combest’s nephew and niece, a few years ago, when Malayzia was just 13 months old. “Our biological children were young,” she says. “I had to sit them down and explain [the situation]. We had to make a few sacrifices, but I promised my dad that if anything were to happen that I would step in and take on the responsibility.”
As a mom and a teacher, Combest knows responsibility well, and aims to ingrain good habits in her children by encouraging them to pursue their interests — from track to tennis to swimming, “to make sure they have a youthful life and try different things” — while staying on top of their academics. “Sports was a balance for me,” she says. “I was never a bad child, but sometimes sports keep children out of trouble, keep them focused. It builds character. You’ve got to go to practice, which builds discipline. If you don’t put in the work, you don’t get anything out of it.”
In addition to being active and engaged in her own kids’ lives, Combest currently teaches 7th grade math — she’s been teaching 29 years — and coaches the girls’ track team at Colonial Middle School. She also tutors in the evenings two days a week. (“When we went virtual, I knew the kids were not getting all that they needed,” she says.)
Last year, she even took in a student who was in a bad situation. He had previously lived in shelters, she says, but “he was, at the time, living with another student, and that wasn’t the best environment.” After some deliberation with her husband, the boy came to live with them, and they got him enrolled into Middle College High School. “Not all parents are going to be there to give them whatever they need,” she says. “We wanted to see him excel.” He stayed with the Combest family for just over a year, until this past March, when he chose to return to his mother and sister.
Combest’s oldest, Brittney, who nominated her as Mom of the Year, is currently a tennis player and student at Grambling University in Louisiana. All of her children are “doing well academically,” she says, “and want to go to grad school. I have one more year before I can retire, but I will work a few more to support them to get them to where they need to be.”
Being a mother is everything to Combest. “I would do anything for my children,” she says. “I just want to be the support. I tell my kids all the time, mom’s not perfect. I don’t always do everything perfectly or correctly, but I’m going to love you. I’m going to be there for you. I’m going to be your biggest cheerleader. And if you’re doing something you don’t have any business doing, I’m going to let you know. But I’m going to say it in a tactful way, and it’s going to come from the heart.
“I love being a mom. I love guiding kids, being there for them, letting them know that you can be the best you,” she continues. “That’s all I ask — just be the best you. Give it a hundred percent, whether it’s in a classroom or on the track or on the tennis court. Same thing with being a mom. As long as I give the best that I can … I hope I can be half as good of a parent as my father was.
“Thank you for giving mothers a voice, for giving us an opportunity to shine when sometimes we just don’t shine — we just do what we do.”
Editor’s note: A few months ago, we asked our readers to submit nominations for Memphis Parent’s first Mom of the Year Award. We received nominations for so many outstanding mothers — choosing a “winner” was not easy. Each and every one of you deserves more recognition than we could ever give, and you are all mothers of the year in our book! Thanks to those of you who told us about the special moms in your lives. Thanks to our contest sponsor, Saddle Creek Orthodontics. And most of all, thank you to all the mothers out there who are selflessly and fearlessly raising up the next generation!